Two Worlds Become One
by Bindi
Summary: Will Riker now has his Imzadi, but someone else on the USS Enterprise has that special person they need to be with. PC romance and an interesting plot. R&R please. It's done. PLEASE R&R!
1. Prologue and Admission

Disclaimer—yet again I write the words that state that these are not my characters.  Paramount owns All TNG characters in this story.  I simply write the original story lines and other characters.

Two Worlds Become One

Three years ago--

          At one time Will Riker never could have imagined the events that he had witnessed.  And yet, here he sat wondering how he could have missed what was in front of him.  All the years he had wasted, trying to figure out what was missing from his life.  For years now he had exactly what he thought he had wanted.  He was the First Officer on the Flagship after all.  In time he knew he could be her Captain.  He currently served under one of the living legends of the fleet and had worked with two more even greater legends.  For thirteen years now he had been on the _Enterprise._  He had his life just the way he would have wanted, or at least what he thought he had wanted. But that was before he had stepped foot toward the turbolift on the bridge of his beloved ship immediately after reporting to Captain Picard, that lifetime ago.  

          She was serenely standing in front of him.  When the Captain had introduced him, he had to steady himself from having a very strong reaction.  The man had noticed anyway.  They admitted to knowing each other, but that was it.  The Captain had left it at that.  But as the lift doors closed on them, he heard her melodic voice in his mind for the first time in over two years.  It was at that moment he began to wonder about what could have beens.

          The two of them rekindled the friendship within weeks of being together.  For years they remained so, growing as close as friends could ever hope to be.  It wasn't until she began to date Worf that he really found himself troubled by not knowing what might still be.  For all the courage and bravery he found in himself during command, he never could manage to muster the courage to simply let her know he still found her to be the most perfect creature in the universe.

          It took him yet another three years to begin to allow himself to try to let his true feelings show.  Truthfully it took almost losing her during the liberation of Betazed.  Even then he never managed to totally admit it even to himself.  A few months later, they found themselves in the briar patch.  It was during that mission he began to really come to his senses.  The whole time they were separated he could not wait to see her again.  He even did what he never thought he would, just to please her; he let her shave off the beard he had worn for almost a decade.  

          A month had passed since they left the briar patch.  Now he knew why he felt that he was missing something.  She had been so close, yet she wasn't truly where he needed her to be.  He had noticed a spring in his step he couldn't attribute to the metaphasic radiation he had been exposed to.  Tedious activities became joyful and the end of every shift brought new explorations.  It had been the most wonderful sensation the first time they allowed themselves to become lovers again.  Sex with Deanna was just not comparable to anything in his memory.  An empath does not need to learn what a lover finds pleasing.  Lying in bed the last few nights had been the most restful he had in years.  There was a comfort and fit to feeling her brush his mind as they fell asleep curled in each other's arms.  The morning was just as exquisite; waking to find her snuggled up to him made him smile.  Which why he was thinking this whole line of thought. 

          She did not have any patients this morning and also had the day off from bridge duty, so he left her to sleep while he went to work.  After he showered he returned to take a final look at the sleeping figure.  Kissing her on the forehead he thought as clearly as he could, _I love you my _Imzadi.

          A very sleepy mind voice answered him as she shifted to lie almost diagonally on the bed.  _I love you too._

          A rather perky Jean Luc Picard smiled at Will when he entered the bridge.  "Good morning Number One.  You look very well rested."  They exchanged normal morning pleasantries including everything they were to accomplish for the day, which was mostly paperwork involving the last of reports on the Ba'Ku.  About an hour passed when the Captain leaned over and in a teasing voice asked Will a question.  "So, when are you going to ask her to marry you?"

          The forward question left Will somewhat stunned.  The Captain had never been a man to hedge around the subject but this was more than normal for him.  The idea had not actually occurred to him yet.  He wasn't thinking that far ahead.  Will also wondered how he had found out.  On duty they had kept the same professional relationship they always had.  So either he listened more to the rumor mill than Will gave him credit for or Beverly had told him.  Deanna had probably told her the next morning.   Instead of merely gaping at the man he chose to be rather vague, yet fairly honest.  "I hadn't really thought about it a lot sir and how did you know?"

          "Oh please, Will" the man held an amused smile.  "At this point we all have been wondering when the two of you would quit pretending not to care.  Were I a betting man even I would have lost.  I have been waiting for this for almost as long as I have known the both of you.  Not to mention the way the two of you couldn't stop holding hands when we left the Briar Patch.  That place left a mark on all of us, and you were one of the luckiest."  There was a wistful expression on his face.  "So tell me when's the wedding, because, if you don't ask her soon, I will hold the first shotgun wedding in Starfleet.  Will it is about damned time the two of you made this entire romance formal.  Thirteen years of serving together and it took being radiated to get the two of you to see the light of day."

          "I get the point sir," _since he started it, I am going to finish it,_ "but isn't this the pot calling the kettle black?"

          "I don't know what you are talking about."

          Smiling Will leaned back in his chair, "When you figure it out, I will announce the wedding date."   Will could see that the Captain actually did get the point, but since he and Beverly had been playing the same game as he and Deanna had for even longer Will thought that he might be an Admiral himself before the two of them managed to do anything about it.

          "Touché, Number One.  I stand chastised."  As he finished the reason for the comment entered the bridge.  "Speak of the devil."

          The red head smiled at seeing her Captain's expression.  It was a rare thing to see Jean Luc smile that way.  Generally he was so reserved that he seemed to have a perpetual frown on his face, on duty anyway.  There had been plenty of times recently that she found his attention wandering towards more than a good mood causing him to smile.  She still had trouble dealing with the mark Anij left on him.  He had fallen rather hard for her.  He was still even thinking about her from time to time.  That did not however interrupt their normal life together, and if Beverly were to think about it she would find herself feeling more than a little jealous of the woman.  Instead she had focused on the day-to-day parts of their relationship, hoping somewhere in the back of her mind that one day he would try something.  Years ago it had been her to push away.  Now she was finding herself actually wanting to go past the hurt of losing Jack.  She truly only loved Jean Luc now, and he wasn't paying attention.  "Should I leave?  I have a feeling I am interrupting something."

          "No Doctor, we were just discussing the long term effects of metaphasic radiation and how people have been acting rather strange since then.  You are welcome to stay if you like."  Riker was trying to be as tactful as he could.

          "Thanks Commander, no.  I simply came up here to extend an invitation to the Captain for a recital tonight.  It's a Brahms concerto; Lieutenant Alvero and Data are the violinists, with Commander Rosaro on flute and Alyssa Ogawa on piano.  It's at 21:00, so there would be plenty of time to have a leisurely dinner." 

Her voice was neutral but Will noticed the suggestive posture the Doctor probably wasn't even aware of.  "Why don't I go see how Geordi is doing with those repairs."  He left as quietly as he could, not wanting to disturb them.

"I would love to."  Beverly smiled at the Captain's reply and left without more than an acknowledgement.

"I swear Imzadi, the two of them had better do something about their feelings for each other.  If they don't they will both pine away from longing in the next few years."  Will had been telling his beloved what had transpired on the bridge.

"Dearest, do you realize what you just said?  Believe it or not it was almost word for word what Beverly told me the Captain said about you.  We spent almost fifteen years hiding from our love; the two of them have been doing it for even longer.  I doubt that any death by anguish is forthcoming.  You on the other hand might just find yourself on the receiving end of a court martial if you don't quit teasing the Captain.

"I promise, I'll watch myself."  The trademark impish grin marked his face as he bent to kiss his Imzadi.

Chapter 1-- Admission

Two months after the marriage of Will Riker and Deanna Troi

          Jean Luc Picard hated to admit something.  He was lonely.  Repairs had been finished from when they nearly destroyed the ship to stop Shinzon.  Now the _Enterprise_ was back on patrol, and he wasn't at home any more.  Marty had been an excellent first officer, but he wasn't his Number One.  They worked well together, but there wasn't the camaraderie he had with Will.  He and Will had clicked the day they had met.

          The more he thought about the way he felt the more he realized that he simply did not want to give up what he had.  Data should be sitting in Marty's chair.  He had come to grips with most everything else but he still couldn't bring himself to forget the man who was the one he wanted to call number one, now that Will had grown up and left home.

          The other thing he couldn't put to rest was the absence of a certain red headed doctor.  Not having Beverly in his life every day was truly disturbing him.  Her eyes had a way of penetrating his mood and bringing him out of the deepest melancholy.  He never had a day where she hadn't been able to be there for him.

          "Captain, is something wrong?"  Lieutenant Commander Alana Buckley, Deanna's handpicked successor, asked quietly from her chair.

          "Just thinking Alana."  She was uncannily like Deanna in her ability to peg him.  She was ¾ human and ¼ Betazoid, one of the children of a friend to both Deanna's parents and Commander Vaughn.  Deanna had actually started talking with her over a year ago.  Apparently the counselor wanted to make sure he had been taken care of.   She wasn't as strong of an empath as Deanna but her telepathic skills were actually a little stronger, she could, if she really tried, read the surface thoughts of a non-telepath.  That was something Deanna usually couldn't do.  

          He tried to change the subject.  "What can you tell me about who we are to be dealing with?  I know we are meeting with some of the leaders of the Cardassian government, but I don't know which ones."

          "Nice try, but I get the hint.  No bugging the Captain when he is thinking.  So I'll play.  The mission is actually fairly simple.  We are to meet with the commander of the provisional military to coordinate relief efforts.  Most of what has been done so far has been administered by DS9.  But they have been trying to deal with the last of the hassles caused by the whole schism of their religious population.  At the moment, they have their hands full.  The _Titan_ actually should be the one handling this, it's part of their patrol route, but they are still tied up with negotiations on Romulus.   The man's name is Gul Legan.  I haven't been able to find out much about him except that he is the one responsible for asking for us to replace the _Titan._   It seems that your reputation has once again preceded you."  Her smile was warm and pleasant.  

          "It's been several years since the war, why do they need us now?"  Granted, he could have waited until the staff meeting at the end of the day to ask the question, but it did have the effect of keeping his mind off of Beverly, and kept certain counselors from being nosy.  The Captain found himself beginning to give in to her way of working.  She was every bit a mother hen as Deanna was, but luckily she did not have the advantage of spending fifteen years sitting in that chair.  Right now he could still manage to keep control of a conversation and hide a bit from her.  Of the new staff he had, Alana was the one he had taken to the fastest.  It would take longer, but he hoped he would eventually have a similar fit to his staff, and he would be home once more

          "Actually, it is the religious schism on Bajor which led them to send for us.  According to command, the internal struggles on Bajor have left some of the Cardassian rebuild high and dry.  What they want us to do, is sort out what DS9 missed during the reorganization on the planet.  DS9 wanted either _Titan_ or us before the Cardassians even poked their nose in.  Commander Vaughn specifically asked for Captain Riker and Counselor Troi to deal with the religious leaders on Bajor.  He wanted you to deal with the Cardassians.  Since the Counselor is needed on Romulus, the brief I read left the choice of who to send to the planet yours.  From all indications, what they are wanting is an arbitrator to help find a middle ground.  They have several texts that now contradict one another.  The problem is what they need isn't help from the Federation, they need theologians.  It will come down to which one has had the most prophecies fulfilled.  

          "Again there's a problem.  On pure numbers, the least popular texts are the most accurate."

          "It sounds like I just found the person to deal with the situation."  Picard leaned back.

          "Me sir?  I only know what I read.  I am not qualified to make decisions on sacred texts."

          "By admitting that you become qualified.  Let's see.  If I remember correctly you have a second degree, anthropology, correct?"

          "Yes sir.  But my concentration was in Betazoid and Earth religions.  Other than part of one semester, I never studied Bajoran culture."

          "But, you have the background to begin.  You know how to do the research, and if you share the passion for this sort of thing that I have, I know that once you get started, you won't want to quit."  After all the years he had been in the Fleet he had managed to maintain his love of archaeology.  He just never could get the time to indulge.

          "You're right sir.  I just don't want to let you down.  Deanna left some awfully big shoes to fill."

          "A friend of mine once told me that if you were left with too big of shoes to fill, clean out the closet and start over."  Jack Crusher had told him that many years ago, just after he had married Beverly.  

_Damn, and I thought I had managed to get out of that trap.  I don't know how to deal with this one.  At the moment, I do have a mission to lead.  My own life goes on hold until it is over._

"Thank you sir.  I appreciate the vote of confidence.  Now are you sure you are ok?  You still seem distracted"

"Maybe I will tell you later.  Right now, just let me think."

Beverly Crusher usually spent her Friday nights at her terminal.  Until she managed to get her own papers ready for publication she spent the time gathering notes, catching up on journals and reading her mail.  So far she had managed to keep up the promises to write everyone.  She had sincerely meant those when she left, but she knew people, eventually it would stop.  But for now she reveled in telling her friends everything she had going on in her life at the moment.

Her problem this evening was that she was lonely.  She had been going through some of her baggage that had finally caught up with her.  In the clothing had been the dress she had worn when Keiko and Miles O'Brien had married.  It made her think of Data.  He had so wanted to learn to dance for the wedding that he had enlisted her to teach him.  She recalled how stiff he was and even though he was technically flawless in his moves how it had lacked something.  She wiped a stray tear from her eye as she continued to unpack.  Next she found the sailor's hat from when Worf was promoted to Lieutenant Commander.  Again she felt tears well up as she remembered Data pushing her into the water.  She had been angry with him at the time, and she never did get a chance to apologize.  What was even sadder was what happened to Jean Luc at the same time.  During the ceremony he learned that his brother and nephew were both killed in a fire.  So many happy and sad memories tied to the same events.

_What I wouldn't give to snuggle into Jean Luc's arms with a hot tea, and just think.  Remember both the happy and sad times.  Most of all just be in his arms.  I miss his scent, his voice, his eyes.  Face it Beverly Howard Crusher you just miss him.  Yes you are still grieving for a friend who shouldn't of had to die, but you are mainly missing a bald headed man with strong arms and a very sexy voice.  Deanna would tell me to find a way to just drag him into my bed and be done with it.  Not that that is such a bad idea, and now that he isn't my CO …  _Beverly let the fantasy continue for a few more moments before she began to chastise herself again.  _That's real smart Beverly.  Remember, you don't do long distance relationships anymore.  Just get over it.  _Vowing not to think about him anymore that evening she went to bed.

_Gentle hands found the hollow of her back, while lips sought purchase to hers.  Two bodies fell to the sand, seeking each other; he lifted the tail of her shirt high enough to expose her breast. With a hunger and patience only he could have he began to explore her body.  Lips caressed every crook of her torso while hands ran up and down her entire body in feathery soft touches.  _

_In turn she raked her nails down his back as he found he more sensitive areas.  She found that he had a very sensitive spot near they base of his neck, which she continued to kiss as her hand found its goal.  Groans of pleasure escaped both of their lips as the came back to looking each other in the eyes.  She gasp as he entered her, but within moments they were one, not just in body, but in soul._

Beverly wasn't sure what time it was.  But the memory of the dream she had been having left her disconcerted.  The caresses from the man of her dreams still clung to her and for just a moment, she thought she smelled him.  Knowing she would only get the memories out of her head by taking a very long shower she rose from the twisted sheets.

An hour later she emerged, sated both emotionally and physically.  Earlier that evening she had put off writing a letter to Jean Luc.  She had been having trouble keeping it just friends.  Now she knew she couldn't.

_I am either going to be happier after this than I have been since Jack died or I am going to crash and burn.    _


	2. What do I do now?

Chapter 2 – Now what do I do?

          _Merde_.  Jean Luc laid on his bed sweating.  He had awaken from a very enticing, yet frustrating dream.  It was always a variant of the same theme, Beverly and himself.  Dreams like this had been part of his life since he met her.  Back in those days, when he would have them he would be able to chastise himself at having lascivious thoughts about his friends girlfriend, and later wife.  After Jack died he had managed to distance himself from her by remaining on the _Stargazer_.  When he lost that ship he kept busy with temporary assignments until he got the _Enterprise.  _ He had even tried to stop her from taking this assignment.  When the met for the first time again at Farpoint Station, she had Wesley with her.  Never before had Jean Luc been so disconcerted to meet a new crewmember.  Her they were, long time acquaintances and he felt as ungainly as a teenager.  He was so happy to see her, yet he wished he had pushed to keep her away.  As the years passed he found that he was glad she had been forceful enough to get the job in the first place.  The more they became friends, the less frequent the dreams became.  By the time she had decided to return to San Francisco he only had these dreams once or twice a month, if that often.  In the past two months, ever since she left he had at least one a night.  Tonight's however had been the most erotic one yet.  Not just in the physical sense, but in the romantic sense.  For some reason tonight's dream seemed to provide a more of a love induced bond, as opposed to the lust which usually prevailed.

          Deciding that he was not going to get anymore sleep, the disconcerted captain went to the bathroom to begin his day, and think.

As the hot water cascaded down his back he thought.  It was easier for him to think about complicated things like this in the shower and sometimes a water shower was just the thing he needed.  For the whole time she had been gone he found himselof wandering back to her.  Of all the crew tha he had lost recently she was the only one he could not bring himself to put into the background.  Even though he still didn't have a very good fit with his new staff he realized that the problem would most likely take care of itself after they all worked together for a while.  But Beverly was a different matter.  He could not bring himself to accept that she wasn't part of his daily life anymore.   By the time he felt his skin starting to wrinkle from the water he came to his decision.  He knew he wasn't ready to give up his ship yet, but he also wasn't ready to give up the one person in his life that he truly loved in all of the ways, eros, philios, and agape; body, mind, and spirit.  

          There was something stopping him from simply sitting down and sending her a message, a Cardassian Gul with whom he was due to meet with this morning.  He still needed to finish preparing for that.  Alana had given him a file on the matter before the end of her shift last night.  Picard had meant to look at before he had gone to bed last nght but he had gotten involved in the ongoing events of the Bajoran religious situation and had actually fallen asleep while reading.  He still had almost two hours so he was confidence he could manage to be prepared.  He went to retrieve his breakfast and noticed his terminal flashing.  Someone had called while he was asleep and decided not to wake him.  Either that or it was something from a subspace packet.

          "Computer, access messages."

          "Working.  There is one new message, received at 03:57 hours."

          "Display message."  He was expecting to see a face as he looked a the screen.  Insetead eh saw a copy of someone's written letter.  He sat down, heart thumping ant read;

_My Dearest Jean Luc,_

_          Only one other time have I found myself shaking the was I am now. And you know about that.  Yet this time, I am finding myself shaking even more.  I have held feelings for you since nearly the first time we met.  For all of those years I have kept them buried deeper than I ever wanted to.  Now I cannot do that.  I love you Jean Luc, with every ounce of my being._

_          I know you well remember the telepathic link we once shared.  Since then I have had to fight even more to keep them to myself.  I hid my loss of Jack and behind my duty as your chief medical officer.  During the war I hid behind not wanting to put myself where I could lose you as more than the best friend that I have.  I can tell you now that n those intervening years my love for you has only become deeper._

_          I woke this evening dreaming of you.  It was then that I realized that I have been a fool for not trying to see if we could be lovers, even if it meant long distance.  _

_          So it is in anticipatory hope that I send this to you.  The hope is that either way you decide I will still have the best friend of my life._

_          I want to try Jean Luc.  I want to see if my nonsensical side and my heart can meet with reality.  So what do you say to the two of us acting like a couple of starstuck teenagers in love?  I wait in anticipation._

_                                                          Love, _

_                                                          Beverly_

Once his heart quit fluttering and he had read the letter a few more times a very happy man turned his mind to his days work, vowing that he would call her after his duty for the day was filled.  So it was a giddy, yet nervous captain that greeted his crew on the bridge.

          "My, you're happy this morning sir.  Did you receive good news?"  Alana's posture shifted slightly in response to the captain's mood.

          "Counselor, truthfully I should remind you that you should not point out the captain's mood, in public anyway."  He smiled.  "But after fifteen years with you predecessor I learned that it was rather useless.  You are right by the way, I did get some very welcome news from a good friend."

          "What's her name?"

          Picard looked to the other chair where the remark had been made by his first officer.  The look on the man's face had causes the captain to feel like he had stepped into the past, back when Will and Deanna had been here.  At that moment he realized that he had probably been the reason for not feeling like he fit with his own crew.  In this moment he saw a pair of people that both thought highly enough of him to learn how to read his moods as well the previous people to hold their positions.  The two of them in just these few seconds had menaged to get to him and show that he really could have a new family in these people.  "Number One,"  Jean Luc paused as he realized that this was the first time he had used the phrase with Marty, "if you must know, her name is Beverly."

          Picard almost didn't hear what his counselor said behind a giggle.  "Deanna owes me."

          "What did you say counselor?"

          "Nothing sir."  She was still smiling.

          "I distinctly recall something along the lines of 'Deanna owes me'.  Should I take that to mean that both the current and former counselors of this ship are taking bets o the captain's love life?"

          A look of chagrin passed her face.  "Mea Cupla.  When I took this post Deanna gave me a very thorough briefing on the senior staff that was still here.  We even discussed long term friendships which could have bearing on the way the crew acts together.  When we discussed the changes in sickbay your relationship with Dr. Crusher came up.  Well I had a bit of a flash.  I told her that the two of you would give in to one another within six months of being apart, she was guessing closer to a year given your track record with each other.  It looks like I won."

          Picard shook his head.  "Betting on your CO is not a good way to get in his graces.  However winning a bet against Deanna Troi goes a long way in my book.  And you," he turned to Marty, "Since you seem to know how to read me so well, I will ask you this.  Do you play poker?"

          In a tone that again reminded Jean Luc of Will Riker he answered.  "I have heard of the game, sir."

          _Yes, I think I just needed to clear my head._  Jean Luc Picard smiled as he leaned into his chair. 


	3. Getting your feet wet

Chapter 3 – Getting your feet wet

          "I thought the Captain just talking when he suggested that I lead this mission to Bajor."  Buckley nervously sat in the Saucer drinking an Antarian Mud Slide.  The syrupy drink, which blended something that tasted like Kaluha ice cream, Terran coffee, _racdijino, _chocolate, and a healthy dose of orange, was the only thing keeping her company as she spoke.

          "The Captain rarely jokes about who is going to lead away teams."  Commander LaForge came up behind the woman, startling her.

          "Commander," she settled herself, "I didn't know you were there."

          "That's ok.  I just over heard what you said and thought that you just might want the company.  I remember what it was like to first come aboard this ship.  And that was after serving on the other _Enterprise_ for almost eight years.  But don't worry, the Captain wouldn't give this to you if he didn't think that you could handle it."

          "Would you like to sit down.  Until now I didn't realize that I wanted the company."

          "I would enjoy that Counselor."

          "We're off duty at the moment, so I think Alana will do."

          "Ok.  Now, why are you so nervous?"

          "The Captain wants me to be the one who opens negotiations with the Bajoran religious government while he handles the Cardassian government.  That leaves a good day or so that I will be alone, without a net."

          "You can do it.  You managed to walk onto the bridge your first day of work and go straight to the Captain and tell him to stop missing Deanna, that you were the one he would have to deal with right?"  Geordi had missed her reporting for duty, but even Worf had told him that she had guts for being so brash.  He also had found out that the Captain had since taken her under his wing the same way he had Deanna.  She was almost as good as the woman she had replaced, but in personality they were very different people.

          She smiled at him, almost flirtatiously.  "That's true.  I don't know why I did either, but I had this feeling that if I went straight to him and told him to quit thinking of missing Commander Troi and deal with Lieutenant Commander Buckley he would be better off.  I think I reminded him of someone other than Deanna though, now I hink I know who.  Besides, Picking out a person's mood or whether they are lying is something I know how to do.  What I don't know how to do is tell people how they should believe.  That's what these people want.  They want someone who can tell them which text should be considered to be their canon.  I am not a theologian, nor am I Bajoran."

          "I think that is why the Captain chose you.  Think about it Alana, you just told me you can pick out a mood.  And I happen to think that anyone with a psychology background should know how to work with people to start a compromise."

          "But I have never done anything like this before.  I am only 29 and I have only had one other assignment before here."

          "You got to start somewhere.  I will let you in on a little secret, Deanna was younger than you when she took this job, and we were an experiment at that. Galaxy class ships were the first to have counselors posted to them.  Deanna was one of only a half dozen when she signed on.  And something else, Captain Picard got his first command at 28.  From the stories that I have heard over the years from him and Doctor Crusher he spent a very long time trying to figure out how to run a ship.  As a matter of fact, he was second officer when his CO and was killed and first officer injured.  He went from Lieutenant to Captain literally overnight.  That is probably the main reason he works the way he does.  He takes into account not just what you are assigned to do, he also thinks about what he knows about you.  If he thinks you are the best person to do something, I don't care if you are a civilian cook or the first officer, you are going to be the one he wants to do it."

          "Point taken.  So, tell me why you have such a good counseling technique and you spend all your time in a pit?"

          Geordi did notice that she had begun to loosen up enough that she had at least unbunched her shoulders.  That and he was finding himself more than a little taken by the tiny woman.  As a matter of fact she was several centimeters shorter than Deanna.  For a month they had worked together but until tonight he had not talked to her much off duty.  For some reason tonight seemed to be the time to start to see if they could be at least friends.  "I think it is because I spend my time in that pit.  If you go long enough without seeing too many people when you do see them you have all the witty things saved up."

          The next morning Buckley reported for duty to be greeted by not only the Captain on the bridge but Commander Worf.  Normally he preferred to be on Beta shift so seeing him at 07:30 in the morning was a bit unusual.  "Counselor, we will be dropping you on DS9 in an hour.  I know the two of you have met but I wanted to make sure you knew I wasn't joking when I said I want you to be the negotiator in this matter.  I am sending Worf with you for two reasons.  The first, and foremost, is that he knows DS9 as well as anyone stationed there.  This way you won't need an escort from the staff.  The second is that he is also an accomplished diplomat in his own right.  If you run into any rough spots his advice could help."

          "Thanks Captain."  _And thank you Geordi.  I am betting you are the reason I am being given help.  _"Worf, what can you tell me about DS9 and Bajor?  I have never been there before."  

          Captain Picard watched as the two of them went to the corner of the room, leaving him to think of his own mission.  Yesterday he had the first meeting with Gul Legan via subspace.  The man was sociable and very polite.  It was a welcome change from the way he remembered Cardassians throughout the rest of his career.  In the past twenty-four hours he had managed to put a lot of his old ghosts into their graves and continue on, without looking back.  The final piece had been when Geordi had visited him last night.  Not only did they talk about the changes each of them had been dealing with now that most everyone had gone on their own way, they had talked about the new people in their life.  He in turn mentioned that Alana was extremely nervous about this mission.  The idea of sending someone with her did not even come to his mind until that point.  He had yet again forgotten that he had a green counselor and not his trusted left arm.  In a way it was an accolade to the woman.  She meshed well with the crew and Jean Luc felt that she was a very trustworthy person.  

          Jean Luc thought of Worf almost immediately when Geordi had brought the subject up.  He had the experience with the station and he knew the commander and several of the senior officers.  He might even suggest that Alana meet with Lt. Dax when she was free.  Worf never felt very comfortable around her but they were in some ways friends and seeing a counselor that went into command might be something for Buckley to think about.  Worf also had several years of diplomatic experience under his belt.  He would be able to give her advice and help in tight spots.  All in all it would be a good team. 

          With that out of the way, they would have an eleven hour trip after they left DS9 to get to the rendezvous with Gul Legan.  He had prepared what he needed to last night, while trying to sort out the restof his feelings.  He hadn't contacted Beverly yet, that was going to happen after he deposited his counselor off into the hands of Elias Vaughn and Colonel Kira.  Until then all he had to do was sit and watch the interaction between a very burly Klingon and a woman who barely measured to the bottom of the man's chest.

*****

          In her office Beverly sat behind her desk looking at research.  This particular project was one of those projects most would have seen as a joke.  For once it actually looked like this one might have promise, a true cure for the common cold, or at least this strain.  In all the years of medical history no one had ever managed to do that.  It might have seemed a joke, but even though science had still to unravel why they couldn't cure a simple viral infection like a cold a lot of valuable research came of the effort.  Many other illnesses had been cured through research on the cold.  

          _I should be paying more attention to this, but I can't._  Dr. Crusher pushed away from her table and stretched.  Currently they were still between semesters and even most of the interns had taken a vacation.  There were still only a skeleton staff working and the research department only consisted of four people this week, herself included.  She didn't even need to be here herself for another three weeks.  If she had thought about it she should have take a bit of shore leave.

          _I am beginning to think that I made a monumental mistake yesterday.  It's been over a day and I haven't heard from him yet.  Jean Luc is nothing if not punctual in his responses.  Considering from what I understand they are near Bajor there should not even be a lag, he could simply call me.  God, I hope I haven't made the biggest mistake of my life.  _   


	4. Jumping right in

Chapter 4 – Jumping right in

Beverly, 

          By now you are probably thinking that I found your letter unwelcome.  I can tell you that nothing could be farther from the truth.  Yes I have spent the last twenty-four hours warring between duty and the heart.  While I have found that I am not quite ready to give up the _Enterprise_ I can not give up my heart either.  Not only do I want to try to see if this could work I want it to succeed.  I long to be able to sit here and shower you with prose ad poetry but find that I to am too nervous to do so.  

          I can honestly say that I was shocked to find your letter at my terminal yesterday, although I had come to the same conclusion not a few moments before I read your letter.  I love you Beverly Howard Crusher, and I am not willing to stand by ad not tell you that.  I want to see you as soon as it can be arranged.

          I want to act like a couple of teenagers in love.  And I want you to be the one that I act that way with.  I spent hours trying to put my life into perspective and I have found that while I have had feelings for others the only one that I want to be with is you.  Until the time that I can see you in person I wait with a lighter heart than I have had in a long time.

                                                                             Jean Luc

          It was a very happy and nervous Captain Jean Luc Picard that copied the letter and sent it off.

          _This can't be happening.  I feel like I did when I was a young girl again._  Beverly read the letter for a second time.  She simply could not believe what she was seeing.  Not only was the man she wanted to spend her life with willing to do something crazy he had wanted to do it at the same time.  For so many years, most of which she had been his CMO she had put her feelings in a tiny bottle and only be a doctor.  It hadn't mattered that she had rationalized many years ago that Jack would have wanted her happy and that he definitely would have approved of her choice.  Wes had even told her that he would have been ok with Jean Luc in her life.  Her best friend and the former first officer of the _Enterprise _had both teased her mercilessly for her worry and fear.  Yet she had shoved all of it aside for duty.  Now she sat at her terminal looking at both her greatest hope and fear in the form of a letter from her beloved.

          She had known for years that he had loved her.  The two of them however took turns pushing the other away for the last fifteen plus years.  Finally after all the intervening time they were both pulling at the same time.  The only drawback to the revelation was that she was in San Francisco and he was God only knew where.  The ship was supposed to be at DS9 but she knew the Captain and command way too well.  _It wouldn't hurt if I tried to see if I could get to him.  I don't need to be here yet and I still have over seven months of shore leave due to me._  With her mind set she went to see if she could pull enough strings to meet with her beloved.

          "Welcome to DS9 Commanders.  Captain Kira sends her regrets.  It seems that this entire mess of trying to reunify the Bajoran religious structure is keeping her too busy to even come down here at the moment."  Vaughn took the hand of the woman who stepped off the pad.

          "When's the last time you addressed me by rank, Uncle Elias?  I know Mom and Dad didn't see you that much I remember you being there often enough to know me better than being just the Ship's Counselor of the _Enterprise._"

          I Elias hadn't known better he would have sworn that he was looking at the girl's mother.  But then again, excluding Deanna Troi who actually favored her father, most Betazoid women that he knew acted like their mothers.  Smiling he spoke again, this time more as the 'Uncle' that she had called him.  "Ok Lana I give.  But I have to at least hold to protocol some of the time.  Anyway the last time I saw you I did not have to address you as anything other than cadet.  Now look at you, counselor on the _Enterprise, _and coming here as a diplomat at that."  He had almost forgotten about Worf, although absently he wondered how he could have missed something as big as the Commander next to this woman who was just over a meter and a half tall.  "Where are my manners?  Commander Worf, a pleasure to see you again." Now he shook hands with the Klingon.

          "The pleasure is mine sir, especially under much more quiet circumstances."  Worf's bass voice echoed in the room.

          "Agreed.  Considering the first time was during a firefight, I have to say I am greatly relieved to meet under diplomatic stress instead.

          By the way, as soon as Dax knew you were coming she asked if I would extend a dinner invitation from her to you.  Tonight after the initial meetings at Quark's?"

          Worf was a bit thrown off by the invitation.  Ezri Dax was not his wife, but she held all of Jadzia's memories.  Not only that but she still loved him as well, although it was only the Jadzia part that felt that way.  Ezri had fallen for Dr. Bashir and the two of them seemed on their was to marrying themselves.  It always bothered him to be around her but over the last few years he had managed to come to grips with it and they he had even become a friend to the woman.  It still however left a bit of a bad taste in his mouth.  Instead of demurring he decided that maybe it would be a good thing for him, and her.  "Tell her I look forward to it."

          "Good.  Now on to business.  No offense to you Commander," he looked at Alana, "can you explain to me why you were given this assignment over Commander Worf?"

          "I believe that it is because she impressed the captain."  Worf answered the challenge before Alana could speak.  When e said it he realized that he took no small amount of pride in what she had managed to do in the month that she had been stationed on the _Enterprise_.  She was completely different from both Deanna and Jadzia but her heart beat as a warrior and even though she chose to use the word for her battleground, she was a warrior nonetheless.  

          "I have to hear what you did for that one.  It is awfully hard to impress Jean Luc Picard.  Well since he has very seldom been wrong on his choices for diplomacy I will take his choice without question.  However I do still want to know what you did to set him on his ear in less than a month Lana.  Now why don't we go on to ops and meet the Captain?"

          "Thank you Commander."  With those formal words Elias and Worf watched as the little girl in front of them became a rather distant person, yet pleasant to look at.  The perfect unassuming diplomatic smile.

          The trip to ops was conducted in silence, which for Alana was a good thing.  She had a couple of things that she wanted to think about.  The first and foremost was Worf.  The man always wore his emotions on his sleeve, as Deanna had put it.  She had known that he had been married to a Trill before the war.  Jadzia Dax had been murdered on this station during the war.  The Dax Elias mentioned was the new host of the Dax symbiont.  She held the memories of Jadzia, as well as eight others.  For Worf this was a very hard thing to cope with.  When Elias mentioned her she had felt Worf begin to have an internal battle over how he felt about the idea.  She made a mental note to try to get Worf to come in for a counseling session when they got home.  

          The second thing she wanted to mull over also had to do with the Klingon that was beside her.  Worf had actually been proud of her for getting this assignment.  He was the hardest man to impress that she knew of.  Even Captain Picard could be won over more easily, and that was saying something.  Granted it was very paternal in nature, more like a parent, but it was there, pride in his little girl.  It made her feel a bit giddy.

          The last thing she wanted to contemplate was Elias Vaughn.  Until today when she stepped of the transporter platform she had never been able to read him.  Now, while still guarded, she could read his mental state.  This Elias Vaughn was much more at peace with himself and not afraid to allow others closer to him.  He was actually happy, from what she could tell for the first time in his life.  He was definitely a different man than the one her parents talked vaguely about and would be there once or twice a year.  

          All in all this had been a wonderful day so far, if she could just settle the pair of _Targs_ wrestling in her stomach.

          "If I can make it and leave today I can be at DS9 in three."  A very bubbly Beverly Crusher spoke to the terminal.

          "That is wonderful Beverly.  We definitely need to talk."  Jean Luc positively beamed.

          "I was hoping for more than that.  We can talk for days on subspace, but not much else."

          "Good point.  My, how I have missed you the last couple of months.  Do you realize that I have found myself setting the breakfast table for two several times.  I have even gone so far as to make your tea before I remembered you weren't there.  That is one of the things I am looking forward to."  _And more than that my fiery Angel._

          Beverly noticed the sparkle in his eye that usually accompanied him having less than pure thoughts.  Her response came as more of a purr as she allowed herself to flirt.  "I'll bet.  What else do you have in mind?  Professing your love to me is a start, but by now you know that I am a high maintenance girl."  Leaning over to suggestively look at the man she felt as if she was fifteen again with her first serious crush.

          "Well I can say that I have already been put in my place.  How does dinner on the Promenade sound for starters?  We're probably going to be there at least a week, if not closer to a month.  So we have plenty of time."

          "I guess that it pays to be Captain Jean Luc Picard of the _Enterprise_.  How many captain's can manage to arrange long shore leaves for his crew twice in less than three months?"

          "The first time I will remind you that it was battle damage that put us in dock, I will remind you.  This time it truly pays more to have a counselor who studied religion and a second officer that used to be a diplomat.  With Alana and Worf heading this to start with I won't need to be involved as much.  As a matter of fact if they do as well as I think they are capable of I can say that I think I might have a fair amount of free time during this mission.  So the next question becomes now what so we do?'

          "I can't believe it, you're delegating.  You must be getting old.  As for the question I won't even begin to answer the rhetorical part of it, but I will answer the literal.  Right now we are going to say good-bye.  If I don't get out of here soon I will miss my ride.  I was really lucky.  The _Sovereign_ is leaving here on her way to a colony near the wormhole.  I pulled a couple of strings and they are going to give me a lift to DS9."

          "Now who does it pay to be?"

          "I guess I deserved that one."  She laughed.

          "Now I am glad that I said it.  I happen to enjoy seeing you laugh.  I will see you on DS9.  And Beverly…"

          "Yes Jean Luc?"

          "I have wanted to say this for you for years but never could.  I love you."

          "And I love you.  Good bye for now."

          "Good bye Love.  Picard out."

          _I haven't felt this good since I left the Briar Patch._  Smiling Jean Luc Picard left his desk to join _his _crew.  Walking toward his chair for the first time since they had rebuilt her he truly felt like it was home again.  It wasn't the same home that he once had, but homes changed over the years as families grew and new members added.  No it was not his old home, but it was his new one.


	5. Opening round

Chapter 5 – Opening Round

          Buckley crawled into the bed of her temporary quarters she had been given on DS9.  The first round of these negotiations had been nearly enough to flatten her, emotionally speaking.  She was very glad that the counselor of this station was human, with no telepathic or empathic capabilities.  The woman would have been driven crazy by now if she had been.  The station staff alone would irritate Alana to no end if she had a chance to allow it.  Captain Kira was a passionate woman, but even though her face and outward demeanor were quite controlled, to Alana she was wearing every bit of stress blatantly for everyone to read.  Commander Vaughn was very subdued, which was more than she ever could get from him.  Lt. Dax was actually a very sweet woman, yet Alana could felt the different personalities surfacing as she spoke to her.  Dr. Bashir's mind was constantly racing from one topic to another with his emotions running the same gambit.  She knew that given time she would be able to learn how to deal with the problems of living with these people, but right now she was rather overwhelmed.  

Worf had left her to visit with Dax for the evening.  She thought of going down to the Promenade to see what was there to find.  Food wasn't on the top of her list at the moment but shopping always gave her something to keep her mind on mundane affairs, which certainly beat what else she had on it.  The last six hours of her day had been spent in a conference room with eight other diplomats, each from a different faction of Bajor's religious community.  Every one of them thought the other was completely mad for feeling that the text they purported was accurate.  

          Alana had never been very religious.  She however studied it as often as she could.  The Captain had been right about her love of the subject.  Once she had truly sat down to study the texts she had become so engrossed in them that she had nearly forgotten to sleep.  While fascinated, she never truly subscribed to any of the belief systems that she found such joy in studying.  Her reasoning was that all religions filled a need in an individual, as well as society.  In that respect they were all equally valid.  She did believe that there truly was a guiding force out there, but she staunchly refused to give it a name.  It could have just as easily be the Christian God as it could be Kylin the Betazoid Goddess of the home.  As long as the Deity in question did not demand a form of animal or sentient sacrifice Alana found some merit in their teachings.

 As much as she wanted to scream at these people for allowing their religious fervor to cloud their judgment she did see the need for them to try to make sense of what they were witnessing.  They truly did need the guidance of religious scholars.  However all they were going to get at the moment was a Klingon and herself.  While in some ways she could consider herself an expert on religion, she had never read more than a couple of papers on Bajoran culture and religion before yesterday   

          The biggest problem was going to be getting the Ministry and the Vedek assembly to agree on anything.  The current Kai was actually quite flexible.  She was actually willing to compromise to get the ball rolling.  Where Alana was having trouble was telling them that every single one of their texts were as valid as the others.  Even the ones that she saw evidence that some of the prophecies had not been fulfilled; none of them had had any prophecy that had been proven wrong.  How was it possible for her to pass a judgment on this?   She had to figure out something.  But at the moment all she could see was a line that was getting blurrier by the minute.

          Her mind continued to race for a couple of minutes before she settled on something to do.  First she would change into civilian clothes and go find out what the shops sold around her.  It would have the advantage of doing two things at once.  First it would allow her to not focus on the matter at hand.  Second, she would be able to simply listen to what was around her and find out what the local Bajorans on the station felt about the restructure of their religion.  Lastly it give her a chance to sort out her own feelings on what was happening now that she was beginning to loosen up on the ship.  Before now she had not allowed herself to even think about forming any friendships while serving as the Counselor.  Deanna had warned her about that, although she had confided that she had formed the most valuable friendships while on the _Enterprise_. At this point she realized that she couldn't just stay the counselor, she would need one within a few months because of loneliness.  

          What she was discovering was that she wanted male companionship.  Now that the Captain had come to grips with his love life, she was more than ready to concede that she needed someone as well.  Especially after Geordi had talked to her last night.  He was really a very sweet man, intelligent, witty, energetic and easy on the eyes.  She never even noticed the ocular implants anymore.  Now all she saw was the handsome face and heart-lightening smile.  Emotionally she couldn't find someone more compatible on the ship.  As a matter of fact she hadn't ever found someone that could have such an emotional response in her.  _That's it.  I just hope I won't sound too forward if I do try to call him.  I think I am going to eat, shop for an hour to think and then call Geordi.  If nothing else I think I can definitely call him a friend and I could use someone to bounce ideas off of._


	6. interlude

Interlude

          "Well, I guess that maybe we are getting somewhere."  Will Riker looked at his wife across the table staring at him.  It was still rather hard to fathom that they were really married.  It had taken over seventeen years to get to this point but now he completely understood everything that he had missed in his life up until now.  He could truly say that his life had really come to mean something. He had his own ship, a wife and now he was the key figure in what looked like it very might well be the end of over a hundred years of hostilities between the Federation and Romulus.  That was if he could manage to finish getting the beaurocrats to listen to enough reason to begin to allow the paperwork to start.  He had managed to get the senate to at least admit that they were ready to begin an earnest dialog, with a binding peace treaty in the works.

          "How do you mean?  The last I saw you were trying to convince the newest Preator to at least admit that they should begin to give Remus some form of autonomy."

          "That is a hell of a lot more than I could manage to get from them last week.  They are listening to me for the most part.  The actual law makers are more than willing to listen to the idea that not only should Remus become an independent protectorate, but should be set on the path of complete autonomy.  What I am having trouble with are the stupid idiots who write the treaties.  I swear it is the one true constant in the universe.  Even death can be overcome easier than trying to get the lawyers to agree on the language of a paper."

          "You do have a point.  However it is not just the lawyers that can't agree on how to phrase things.  Every writer has that problem.  It is just in this case you are trying to figure out how to get two completely different cultures to commit to something fairly concrete.  But think about it _Imzadi_ it has taken over a hundred years to manage to get to a point to truly sit down to the peace table.  You are not going to fix it in a week, or even a year.  Once we leave here they are still going to be putting the fine points on this thing for quite a while.  Now to completely change the subject.  Peace talks are wonderful to talk about but I would prefer not to discuss work at the dinner table.  I got a letter from Alana on the _Enterprise _this morning.  It seems that I lost a bet with her.  I believe we a probably going to be invited to a wedding in the near future."

          "Whose?"

          "Beverly and Captain Picard, if you can believe that it is finally going to happen.  Beverly actually wrote our dear ex-captain a letter.  He was quite happy yesterday morning."  Deanna smiled

          "Well I'll be.  The two of them finally gave in.  He once said that if I didn't marry you he was going to hold a shotgun wedding.  Personally I was beginning to think the same thing.  So, what else has come from our old family?"

          "I haven't heard from Beverly yet.  My guess is that she is still too nervous to do anything but sit by her terminal and wait on him to call her."

          He raised his glass in a mock toast.  "Here's to love.  May we all fall to her prey."  Deanna managed to still be able to drink, despite the lustful look in his eyes.


	7. first volley

Chapter 6 – first volley

          "I can tell you this much Alana, right now this has to have been one of the easiest missions that we've been on lately.  Everything that has gone on seems to suggest that all we are going to have to do is restart several schedules for repairs.  And even most of those are fairly minor.  Now there are a lot of medical needs to be addressed, but that is something that all we are required to do is see what we can set up in the way of interim care and then forward it on to Medical."  Geordi chuckled a little as he spoke to the animate woman smiling at him on the subspace terminal.

          "What's so funny?"

          "Well I just realized that the first real mission that we have after losing Dr. Crusher is going to end up at least involving her in some way.  I thought it somewhat ironic."

          "You're right, there is a bit of humor in that.  At least you have it pretty easy at the moment.  I wish that I could say the same.  Granted, nobody wants to kill anyone but…" she sighed before continuing, "I have never in my life dealt with people so stubborn.  Even Commander Worf and Captain Picard seem extremely malleable in comparison.  Someone once said, 'when religion enters the picture, brains fly out the window.'  Whoever coined that phrase must have had Bajoran Vedeks in mind."

          "At least you have a handle on the situation.  You said it yourself, no one is trying to kill anyone.  These people might be stubborn, but they came to this conference wanting to find a way to fix this.  The will yell and scream trying to get their way but in the end, you _will_ be able to get them to compromise.  Which brings me to a question.  How's Worf dealing with them?"

          "Kicking and screaming.  He has even less tolerance for religious zeal than I do, and he is a very religious man himself.  Personally I think he wants to lop everyone's head off with his _bat'leth_ and go home.  But for all the anger he has, I am fairly sure that I am the only one that notices it."  She snickered at the memory of Worf from earlier.  She could tell without looking at him that he was furious with the petty squabbles of the Vedek Assembly representatives, but on the outside he held an expression that would have been much more at home on the Captain's face than his.  Not that it was a fake looking expression, it actually seemed to come quite naturally to him.  No, it was just so different from what he normally had that the juxtaposition of the mood and the face had been comical.

          "That's our Worf.  I have watched him negotiate before.  He really is good.  And I can see the emotional war almost as well as am empathy feels it, especially among friends."

          "You are right.  He really has helped me already.  Thanks for talking to the Captain."

          For the first time in the conversation Geordi LaForge felt a little uneasy.  Amazingly he had not felt awkward talking to a female that he didn't know real well.  Even duding his somewhat relationship he had with Leah Brahms over the years had never passed that point.  Now he was having a little trouble in the nerves department.  He had asked the captain not to say anything to her about it.  "How did you know?"

          "Geordi, I'm an empathy remember.  I have to be trying to block out everything otherwise I get the surface emotions of everyone around me.  Not to mention, I'm a psychologist.  I've gotten pretty good at reading people.  Besides he never said anything directly about you, but he did say he wanted to make sure that I knew how serious he was about me being the one to lead this mission.  I put two and two together and came up with a certain chief engineer that I happen to think is my friend."

          He relaxed a bit after hearing the teasing tone of her voice.  She had found it sweet that he had thought to even mention it, and even sweeter that the Captain had listened.  "Caught me.  Truthfully I did not go to him just to say anything of you being nervous.  I wanted the company of someone that had been here for a while.  Worf and I have never been real close and he and the Captain are the only ones left that have been here the whole time.  I guess I was missing poker night."

          "Well I'm not one for spreading ridge gossip, but I think I can safely say the captain does too, and that he found a forth for the table."

          "Oh, I haven't heard about this yet."

          "Well I don't think he is thinking too far ahead at the moment.  Yesterday after Commander Madden said something to him he finally called him Number One.  Then he asked if he played poker?"

          "So what brought this on?"

          "Well the captain got a letter from Dr. Crusher that apparently changed the way he looks at things, and he admitted as much."

          "From what you are dancing around I am to gather that the letter was more than a hi how ya doin'?"

          "I didn't see it, but if his reactions to Marty's teasing were to judge I would definitely say that the two of them have finally decided to get together."

          "Well I'll be.  I had given up on the two of them.  So what did Commander Madden say about the idea of poker?"

          "He said that he had heard of the game."

          "I can say that things are definitely looking up around here.  So what about you, I can almost guarantee we can get the game going if you joined in?"

          "I don't know.  Wouldn't someone think that I am cheating?"

          "Not in the least.  Except for Marty, the rest of us played with Deanna for years."

          "In that case I would love to. I haven't played in years.  Most everyone at the Academy wouldn't play against a telepath."

          "I can understand the feeling.  I had problems because of the visor.  It was actually Will Riker that managed to get me past the worry of what others felt and remind me that if I wanted I could filter out anything that I wanted to."

          Geordi watched as her expression changed.  He could see the proverbial light bulb go off.  "What is it?"

          Alana appeared to be so deep in her thought she was started.  She had forgotten he was there for a moment.  "Sorry.  I think you just gave me an idea."

          "What did I say?"

          "Filtering.  I think I have just figured out how to get these hard noses to play ball my way.  It will take some rewriting of history for some but I think if I can find some of my old research I can make the idea work."

          "Glad I could be of service, although I am still not sure I did anything."

          "You, my dear heart, have been my muse.  Thanks.  But I have got to get to work on this if I have any hope of getting anywhere.  I'll be up most of the night, but I'll make up for it the next time I have ay shore leave.  I'll talk to you tomorrow.  Buckley out."

          With that she was gone, leaving in her wake a very perplexed chief engineer.  "Well glad I could help," he muttered to the air.  From under his chair something curled around his leg.  He had almost forgotten that Worf had brought Spot over to be taken care of while he was on DS9.  Absently he picked her up, scratching her.  His mind drifted happily back to the conversation with a cute strawberry blond Betazoid.  He never gave thought to the idea that this was the first time the recalitant animal had ever solicited attention from him.  


	8. insights

Chapter 7 – Insights

          Alana allowed the arguments between the Vedeks to continue for almost ten minutes before she stopped them.  At this point Worf had made several comments to her regarding the methods she was employing.  She had to repeatedly tell him that the entire idea depended on them getting to this point.  Finally they had reached the place she had wanted them to be when she had begun this debate.  What they were currently discussing was a specific prophecy that appeared in every text, and very well known, the arrival of the Emissary.  It appeared in every text, but in radically different forms, yet it had been agreed upon several years ago that each one was the same prophecy.  This was where she stopped them.  "Gentlemen, I believe I can settle this argument once and for all, and fairly to each representative."  She had pitched her voice louder and deeper than she normally would have, to command attention.  "If you would indulge me I believe I have come to the solution that you seek."

          There were skeptical looks but no one denied her right to speak.  "To begin with I want to draw your attention to the prophecy that is currently being discussed.  Every text in question has been deemed accurate in regards to the arrival of the Emissary.  Yet the wording of the arrival is different in every one.  This can be easily explained by taking into account when and where it was written.  This is where I have been trying to get you this morning.

          "When you asked for Federation assistance in this matter, you believed that you would receive a religious scholar who had spent years at least studying Bajoran culture.  Such a person was not available.  When I was asked to chair this summit I had very little experience or knowledge of your culture.  But I had made an avocation of studying religion prior to this point.  In the case of Bajor specifically the problem of the accuracy of a text is not the issue that it is in either of the two cultures that I specialize in.  However the answer to the codification is the same, language."

          Several of the Vedeks began to protest but she headed them off before the could get anywhere,  "What I propose is this.  The most viable solution is the merger of the texts into one.  No one questions the validity of these documents.  What is question though is the phasing and language used.  I suggest that we spend the rest of this session focusing on this one prophecy.  Using every text simultaneously, you will want to filter out the extraneous parts and discrepancies, as well as using the actual event you can build an interpretation that all can agree upon.  This will require you to look only at the text and actual history.  By doing this you can build a text that is more whole and complete than any single collection that you have now."

          "But what of the texts themselves?"  This came from the youngest and most vocal of those assembled.

          "They will remain as they are and available for any that wishes to study them.  They shall retain their sacredness much as a book called the Tanakh, a Terran religious writing.  That text is almost seven thousand years old and has been preserved in its original language.  Your new collection will serve the same purpose as another collection of works from the same Earth culture, the Talmud.  Where the Tanakh is concrete writing that is never changed, the Talmud is dynamic and updated every five years or so.

          "The main difference here, is that you are going to use this to build a common ground from which to begin study and once you have completed the initial work you will need to change it every time a prophecy is fulfilled.  By doing this you will create a new text that shall be considered as something referred to as the sacred secular.  What that means is an object that is know to be of conscious secular origin, which modernizes or interprets the sacred.  The writing itself will take on its own sacred meaning as it is written.  Who knows, maybe one day one of the texts will reveal that this summit in and of itself was predicted and that the outcome would be this.  But until such time this will serve to give every sect of your culture a common ground on which to agree, while still allowing room for their own personal growth."  When no one spoke she continued.  "Don't accept this task or turn it down without examining this one case.  I urge you to spend the rest of this session to try to begin to blend this one prophecy into a coherent form.  I believe that in doing so every one of you will find an inner peace at seeing these different views become one."

          Much to Alana's surprise, no one voiced an objection.  The youngest one, which had asked her the question earlier, immediately offered to be one of the note takers, much like a group assignment in school.  The assemblage began to talk, not argue, about how to begin.

          _Well, that went better than I expected.  But then again, what should I expect from a group of people that find the truest joy in their lives by sifting over papers day in and day out._

          "My child," began the Kai as she came close to the Counselor, "you have remarkable insights for one so young.  I would have expected months before anyone would begin to get a compromise put in the works.  Instead you gave them the spark to fix it themselves in less than two days.  How is it that one so young knows as much?"

          "I would love to tell you that your prophets guided me through this, but I can't.  No, this was entirely a case of listening to a conversation and connecting something from childhood.  The two texts that I used as examples are from a Terran religion called Judaism.  It is still widely practiced among human culture.  My father was raised Jewish.  When I went to the Academy I was given the chance to study that religion as well as others.  A friend and I were talking last night and he triggered a memory of the Talmud.  That's what gave me the idea."

          "Who is to say how the Prophets guide an individual.  What truly matters is the good you did here today.  You have my gratitude as well as that of Bajor."  In the traditional Bajoran fashion the Kai reached and gentle took her left ear in her hand.  Closing her eyes, she said farewell to the counselor.  "Walk with the prophet my child.  Though you do not give it a name you are blessed."   Then she backed away bowing.

          "Thank you Eminence."  Alana silently thanked that anonymous power for letting her have the insight she had needed, and Geordi for being her muse.  A small smile played on her face as she saw Worf standing behind her.  Both his posture and his emotions radiated pride in her.  If it weren't for the fact that the man standing there was a Klingon she felt as if her father were looking at her.  The man felt as if he was watching his own child accomplish something.  Deanna had told her everything that she knew about the burly second officer.  If you earned his respect you were very lucky.  If he saw you as a warrior, you were someone that he would fiercely protect, and would be his friend.  Maybe not a close friend, but someone he would respect.

          In this instant in time she learned why Deanna had stayed here for so long, and why she had chosen the path she had.  This was her family.  Still smiling she went to the Klingon and spoke quietly.  "Worf, when is the last time you played poker?"

          "Too long Commander, too long."  His voice was gruff, but she thought she saw his face brighten, just a bit.


	9. blended family

Chapter 8 – Blended family

          "Jean Luc, why did you and I wait so long to do this?"  Beverly walked next to the man as they left the restaurant, heading for the docking ring to return to the _Enterprise._

          "I have thought about that for the last three days while waiting for you to get here.  The proud male would want to say that the two of us found duty more important than anything.  I would like to think that myself, but I find that I can't say it."

          "Then don't.  The only thing that I could not handle is you lying to me.  For right now I don't really want to know either.  Let's talk about something else.  Something more along the lines of how long are you staying here?  Even though the new schedules for medical assistance for Cardassia will involve me I think I can arrange to do most of it here on the station.  So I don't think I'm going anywhere for a while."

          "Unfortunately I can't say the same.  We will be here about another week, I hope.  The only one that really needs to be here is Commander Buckley.  I don't know all the details yet, but some how she managed to come up with a compromise that truly set the Bajoran religious sector on its head.  She is truly amazing."

          "Sounds like you just adopted another little girl."

          "I think I just have at that.  So why don't we go back to the _Enterprise_ and play house ourselves."

          There was a lusty smile on her face as she took him by his arm.

          "I think I now know how you managed to impress your captain, Lana."  Commander Vaughn sat beside his 'niece' in Quarks.  After hearing what she had devised as a settlement among the Bajoran people had flattened him.  It was in fact elegantly simple, yet it had taken years for someone to think of it.

          "Oh, Elias.  What is that?"

          "Well for one, you have guts.  I don't think anyone else would have come up with something that sounded so out in left field but made perfect sense.  I know your dad will love to here about it."

          "When I get the chance to tell him I will.  Right now I am going to have to show these people how to begin to build what will seem to them as an entirely new religion until they learn that what they are truly doing is taking the old and venerating it to the point that it becomes new."

          "You know, when you came aboard the other day I swore that you acted just like your mother.  I was right, but I think you truly got your dad's chutzpa.  Only a Talmudic scholar could see what you did and make it look effortless."

          "Effortless my butt.  I spent the entire night before trying to find my old college papers and compare my conclusions with the databases of the Talmud.  After that I still had to figure out how they applied here.  I don't want to admit this but the whole idea was a leap of faith."

          "Lana I don't think it was so much a leap of faith as it was your own faith in yourself.  I know your family too well to not believe that somewhere in the back of your mind you had the answers to begin with.  Sometimes it just takes looking at things differently to know what you are looking for."

          She contemplated the idea for a moment.  Then she turned the conversation on him.  "I think that that goes for both of us.  I am glad to see that you are happy Uncle.  This place suits you.  Didn't I see Prynn walking around earlier?  I haven't seen you in years and the last that I heard the two of you were on the outs with each other.

          "Like I said sometimes it takes looking at things differently.  That's why I am glad that I chose to be here.  I was ready to try to see things from a different standpoint.  Now enough counseling.  I just want to spend the time with you before you leave."

          "Well I am not going anywhere for a couple of weeks.  The Assembly has requested that I stay as an advisor for at least two to three weeks.  The Captain has granted me temporary duty to do it.  So you will see me for a while."

          "Am I interrupting?"  Geordi LaForge came to the table.

          "No Commander, Commander Vaughn and I were just catching up on old times."  She introduced them.  "Elias Vaughn this is Commander Geordi LaForge, chief engineer of the _Enterprise._  Geordi, my 'Uncle' Elias."

          "Geordi, I haven't seen you in a while."  Elias smiled.

          "Commander Vaughn."  Geordi was a bit put out by seeing the man.  It had been a couple of years.  Both times he had been in the company of the man prior to this had been during very unpleasant times.  Now he wasn't quite sure what to say, but Alana had asked to meet him as soon as he finished his shift for the day.

          "I'm sorry, do the two of you know each other?"

          "Not well Lana.  I have been on the _Enterprise_ a couple of times."  Seeing the discomfort of the two youngsters he saved them from the awkward moment.  "Why don't I leave the two of you alone.  I am a little old for the shenanigans of the young."  He bent over to kiss Alana on the cheek as he left.  A small whisper came out of his mouth as he did.  "I definitely approve Lana."

          She was blushing as he left.  Geordi noticed and smiled.  "What brought that on?"

          "Let's just say you just got the 'uncle' seal of approval."

          When Buckley returned to her ship she was exhausted.  It had taken nearly a month, but she was laid the foundations for the Bajoran people to finish their quest on their own.  All she wanted tonight was a quite dinner in her quarters, and fiction book to get all the information out of her head, and her bed.  First however she had to deal with all the dispatches that had piled up while she was gone.  Most of them had been forwarded to her on DS9 but there were probably several that had been missed.  Surprisingly there was only one.  It had been dated only an hour before she arrived.

          LaForge's face filled the screen.  "Alana, meet me in my quarters at 21:00."  That was it.

          _Now what is this about?_   They had talked almost every day that she had been gone.  The _Enterprise_ had been on fairly routine missions so what had been left had just been the normal day-to-day talks of friends.  She was fairly certain that there would be more when they were together again.  There was a flutter in her stomach as she changed to meet him.

          The next night brought another shock.  After her first day back Alana had been pleasantly tired, and looking forward to a repeat of the previous activities when Geordi paged her.

          "Buckley here."

          "Alana, are you planning anything tonight?"

          "No, do you have something in mind?"

          "Actually I do.  Dr. Crusher is leaving tomorrow to return to DS9 herself and I thought it would be a good idea for one last poker game.  You up to it?"

          "Where and when?  And how about a private game ourselves after?"

          If she could have seen him she would definitely have seen the blush.  "I think that can be arranged."

          Sitting at the table Alana looked around her.  For the first time since she had meat these people every one of them was happy.  Worf had found a bit of a catharsis in talking to Dax.  He was still lonely but he was definitely ready to start again.  He had his duty and again he had found his home again.  The Captain was the happiest she had ever seen him and practically glowed with the joys of newly acknowledged love.  Dr. Crusher, who she had only met recently, shared her beau's glow.  Alana knew that if anyone looked they would see the same glow on her and Geordi's faces as well.

          She dealt the cards.  She wasn't quite sure why shy said it but for some reason this choice of words seemed apt.  "Five card stud, nothing wild, and the sky's the limit."


	10. epilogue

            Captain Crusher studied the communiqué from Command, frowning as she did so. They were to divert from their current assignment in the Kaleb Sector to supplement the Starfleet psychiatric center on Betazed.  According to the mission brief both the _Titan _and _Enterprise_ had been involved in the liberation of over 1500 people who had been held captive on Dentarus IV for several years.  A fair portion of them had actually been there since the last few months of the Dominion War.  The _Hippocrates_, her ship, was being requested because of the expertise of several of her crew.  Of the eleven doctors she had on board the research vessel, eight of them were Vulcan and two were Betazoid.  Every one of those physicians had been specifically mentioned because of their telepathic abilities and history of dealing with psychic trauma.  She also had two nurses mentioned who were also Betazoid, both of whom had been resistance fighters on Betazed before joining the Fleet.

            The reason they had been cited only became apparent after she had read the account of what had happened.  Not only were these people suffering from acute post-traumatic stress disorder, every one of them were now telepathic.  They were exposed to some sort of retrovirus, which had induced telepathy in the non-telepaths and heightened the ability of those who had skill to begin with.  While her team was aiding the recovery effort, Starfleet was asking her to research the virus herself.

            Other than her assignment and the bare minimum of background there was very little information to go on.  Generally she was at least told of the circumstances where a victim of something as traumatic as this had been found.  This time there wasn't any more information other than initial diagnosis and where they were found.  This was not something that settled well with Beverly Crusher.  Either Command did not want her to know or they didn't know themselves.  If it were the former, she would deal with the frustration and be done with it.  However the latter option did not sit well.  After all the years of serving with them she knew that both Will and Jean Luc were very meticulous in writing their mission logs.  If both of them had chosen not to include most of the details of this little jaunt of theirs, it had to be one hell of a mission.  

            _Well, I guess I need to get this place moving.  Then as soon as I do that I need to call that would be boyfriend of mine and get whatever hadn't been put in those logs.  I have a feeling that this is not a case of my not needing to know.  And so help me if the two of them managed to hurt themselves I will give them even more to feel pain over._

            "Lieutenant Morgan."  Beverly waited for the response.

            "Yes Captain."

            "Get everyone back here on the double.  Tell them they have one hour.  Anyone that doesn't make it had better talk to me.  Any one that is non-essential will have to find their own was home if they truly have a good reason to stay at the moment.  We have new orders.  As soon as everyone in on board, set a course for Betazed, warp 8."

            "Aye sir."

            _Now to call Jean Luc and see what he got himself into this time._

            Beverly knew that the _Titan _and _Enterprise _were working together.  Last week, Geordi had called to inform her that Data had left a Will and that he had wanted it executed as close to a year after his death as possible.  What he wanted to know is if she could come.  She couldn't leave the ship at the moment, so she gave him her blessings to go ahead.  That was the only thing that she knew.  Settling her thoughts into the background she began to see if she could even reach them.  "Computer, are we in communications range of the _Enterprise_?"

            "Affirmative."   

            "Open a channel.  _Enterprise_, this is the _Hippocrates.  _Please respond."  She patiently waited.

            Lt. Comdr. Buckley greeted the doctor.  "Captain Crusher, a pleasure to hear from you.  I had a feeling you would be calling us.  What can we do for you?"

            "Well, I guess you could say that this isn't just a social call.  Is the Captain available?"

            "He's in the ready room.  Let me page him."

            "It only took a few seconds for Jean Luc to answer her.  "Beverly, let me guess.  Command took my suggestion and sent for the _Hippocrates_."

            "At least I now know how they decided to send for a ship that is almost four days away to deal with trauma victims.  Now would you care to tell me what you and Will did this time?  I will remind you that I quit patching up the two of you a year ago."

            "This time you do have to patch either of us up.  Physically both of us are fine.  Will however is under the care of one Lwaxana Troi for the next several days, if you can believe that one."

            That was a very interesting development.  Unless it had to do with the virus she was supposed to research, she could not comprehend why Will's mother-in-law would be tending to him.  "Since I am now thoroughly confused, why don't you start from the beginning and don't just stick to what I think was probably a very edited mission log."

            "Ok. It all started when the Fleet asked me to look for a single shuttle that had vanished in a little backwater system called Dentarus.  The pilot's name was Lwaxana Troi.  The Fleet agreed to my request to have Will aide in the rescue attempt. According to command she had reported a telepathic distress call immediately before they lost contact.

            "Well, she shows back up on a Romulan warbird, the same ship that Will was supposed to meet at DS9.  Once she fills us in on the details we investigate.  The next thing significant that happens is Deanna comes up with an idea to send an away team down to the surface to see what the man has.  Now Will overrides both his first and second officers and goes on the mission.  The team consisted of Deanna, Commander LeBeau, himself, and a geologist that he gave a field commission to in order to keep me from stopping a civilian from going into a hostile situation.  Will wasn't even the Commander of the mission, Deanna was."

            "I can see Will doing both of those things."  Beverly interjected.

            Picard chuckled at her amusement.  "Anyway, to make a long story shorter.  The mission goes sour.  Will is captured in an ambush and LeBeau stays behind to look for him.  Deanna and Heath, the geologist, make it back.  In the process however, Deanna destroys a runabout."

            He waited as she absorbed the situation.  Truthfully he expected her to say something about Deanna's piloting skills.  After all he hadn't been able to resist a remark about it himself.

            When she simply looked expectantly at him he continued.  "When Deanna returned she enacted a battle field transfer and listed the two of them as missing in action.  Then she proceeds to come up with this hair-brained scheme to get them back.  Captain Troi suggested that we play to this man's meglomania, keeping him occupied enough to get a security team down there to retrieve not only Will but what she was now sure was over a thousand people that were being held in the facility."

            "You say that with admiration, but you called it hair brained.  What did Deanna come up with?"

            "Well, to just look at it you would think that it was crazy.  According to the profile the Tal-Shiar has on the man, he is a hyper intelligent person with grandiose plans of power.  Deanna's suggestion was to use his greed to create a telepathic army and make him doubt his self-given sense of authority.  The idea was to open negotiations with letting him think that the Federation had beaten him on creating telepathic troops.  The hitch was that between both ships we only had four true telepaths: Deanna, her mother, Alana and Dr. M'Lyrae. Now, M'Lyrae is good, but he is also Vulcan.  Deanna is only telepathic with other telepaths.  Alana has a little more telepathy than Deanna but she is pretty much in the same situation.  That only left one person, Lwaxana.

            "What she came up with was using Lwaxana for a ringer for Marty.  Then once we started talking to him, we went down there as soon as we could get the others together.

            "Now I want you to imagine how strange it felt to me to sit on the bridge of my own ship, with my Number One sitting at the helm like a green cadet and Deanna's mother sitting in his chair.  Now think about how disconcerting it would be to then look at Deanna in the command chair of the _Titan_ while her mother is next to me in the same exact pose Deanna was in.  Anyway, we got in.  Once the security force found us shooting did start.  At that point Lwaxana was the most important member of the team.  She locked horns with Taldoran, the man responsible, which gave Alana the chance to take the man down."

            "So where were you during this?  I have never known you to shy from a fight.  Even when you should have."

            "Beverly, I hope you can understand when I tell you I am not ready to talk about it.  Maybe when you get here, but not now."

            "I won't push, but if it is bothering you that much I would suggest that you talk to Alana yourself, or maybe even Deanna if she has the time."

            "I might at that my love.  For right now I am just glad that it is over.  It wasn't much as fights go, but it drained me.  Now to continue.  They did find everyone, with only 10% casualty rate, and all but three of those were wounded only.  LeBeau was critically injured and will be unable to return to duty for several days.  Will on the other hand did not even get a scratch on him physically but he was given the virus you are going to research.  Which is why I am still here.  Deanna wants me to be the one that reinstates Will.  Bev, this thing is nasty.  It actually makes a person into a telepath."

            "My God, what's he going to do now?"

            "Live with the ability.  He was given several options, this was the most risky, but the only one he was willing to try.  He told me something last night after Alyssa would let me see him.  I have known for quite some time that Deanna could tell if Will was in trouble, even when he wasn't on the ship.  What I didn't know until yesterday was that now it goes both ways.  Apparently when he went to Betazed after the D crashed something happened.  All I know is that he didn't want to give that up.  I also found out that the bond that they share includes a limited form of telepathy and that it has existed ever since they began dating.  Given that he would lose all of those abilities if he chose any of the other options, I can't say that I blame him."

            "Well, at least that explains the confusion over Lwaxana.  She is one formidable woman, and extremely gifted from a telepathic standpoint.  I expect that since Deanna probably couldn't help him that the only one he would even let touch his mind to help him heal would be her.  They have had problems over the years but he would feel better with family poking in his head than a stranger.  Now I am going to change the subject.  How did the reading of Data's will go?"

            "Very well actually.  For the first part of the night we had a wonderful reunion.  I guess it was after midnight before we ended the evening.  By the time Geordi began, which by the way I did not even know Data had left a will, we had been talking for about four hours.  When he was done I will admit that there was not a dry eye at the table.  We sat in silence for several minutes.  Then all of a sudden Deanna perks up.  She tells us that she has some news that will definitely cheer us."  _ I am going to draw this out.  I can't wait to see the look on her face._  He waited.  Finally he noted that she was about ready to reach through the comlink and strangle him if he didn't go on.  Smiling he continued.  "Now here I am wondering what could be so good that it would change her mood so quickly.  I even asked her that."  She still hadn't seemed to glean what he was heading to.  He simply gave it another moment before finishing the tale.   "This is when I see Will out of the corner of my eye and he looks like a cat who ate a canary.  I look over to him and he then proceeds to tell me that he is glad that families are welcome on long range vessels again."  The smile that graced her face was worth the baiting he had given.

            "Are you telling me that Deanna is pregnant?  That is some wonderful news."  The next statement that came out of her mouth was much more forward than she generally was.  Aside from the letter that she had sent which had started their relationship she generally let Jean Luc bring up decisions to be made within their life together.  "So, now that your kids have lives and families of their own, when are you going to settle down?"

            "After this past week I have been giving that a lot of thought Angel.  It was one of the reasons I wanted to have the _Hippocrates_ brought here.  You and I need to talk."

            "Jean Luc Picard, is this what I think it is?"

            "It very well might be, although I was going to wait until we were together.  It may not be the most romantic way to do this, but I think I would like to go ahead and ask you now.  Beverly Howard Crusher, will you be my wife?"

            Beverly was stunned.  As much as she had wanted to simply shout to him she was paralyzed by shock, and yes a little fear.

            "Beverly are you alright?'  He asked after she hadn't said anything for over a minute.

            "Jean Luc I don't know what to say."

            "I believe that the customary response would be yes."

            Finally she found her voice.  "Yes Jean Luc.  I will marry you."  He voice sounded distant to her, yet her heart sang louder than it had for decades.


End file.
